FEEDBACK ON NEJAHMOGUL INSPECTING AUTHORITIES

During the court ruling on 23 February 2021, Nejahmogul’s fees were declared illegal and dismissed with costs. Nejahmogul is, therefore, still the authority appointed over dairy under the Agricultural Product Standards Act (119 of 1990), but currently has no fees that it can charge for services it would provide. Nor can it demand payment of invoices for services before the court ruling.

Nejahmogul’s appointment only applies to processors and manufacturers of milk and milk products, imitation dairy, and ice cream products. It, therefore, has no jurisdiction over raw milk destined for further processing. Should a producer sell raw milk directly for human consumption (where it is legally permissible), then it does fall under R1510/2019, which Nejahmogul must apply. Producer distributors (PDs) are also subject to the same regulation.

Therefore:

• Producers who supply only raw milk to milk buyers are excluded.
• Producers who sell raw milk directly for human consumption, as well as PDs that process milk and manufacture products, such as maas are subject to inspections by Nejahmogul.
• Nejahmogul, currently, has no legal fees announced and it is unlikely they will be able to do any inspections at this time.
• It is important to note that Nejahmogul is still authorised to carry out inspections, but this will be for its own account.
• Milk SA’s representatives and lawyers have been conducting follow-up meetings since 13 May 2021 as part of the ‘PAIA’ process with the Department of Agriculture and Nejahmogul to enforce a transparent and legally lawful process, before Nejahmogul can consider announcing any fees at all.
• It is recommended that producers contact me via the MPO, should there be any actions currently underway from Nejahmogul. I would like to know about incidents where producers have been contacted by Nejahmogul (outside of their mandate), as we would like to investigate information of malpractices.
• Producers are also advised to be careful with visitors who will present themselves as employees of the department without any authorization documents and appointments.

Feel free to call if there are any further questions.

Regards,

Jompie Burger

Managing director

DAIRY STANDARD AGENCY

TEL: +27 (12) 665 4250

FAX: +27 (12) 665 3895

CELL: 083 9663827

Email: jompie@dairystandard.co.za